In the case of a known drive for a power circuit breaker, such as in the case of the FK/FH 2-40 drive shown on pages 21 to 23 in the SPRECHER ENERGIE AG Document 4106 "Oelarme Leistungsschalter HP 300, 1250 . . . 4000 A fur Innenraumanlagen bis 24 kV" [HP300, 1250 . . . 4000 A power circuit breakers with little oil for internal installations up to 24 kV], the force accumulator spring is tensioned using a crank or, optionally, also using a built-in electric motor. When not in use, the crank is suspended at the front on the drive.
In the case of another spring-force drive for high-voltage circuit breakers, which is shown in FIG. 18 on page 9 in the SPRECHER ENERGIE AG Document 42B1A "SF6-Leistungsschalter 72,5 bis 420 kV Typenreihe HGF100 fur Freiluftaufstellung" [72.5 to 420 kV HGF100 Series SF6 power circuit breakers for open-air installation], the accumulator spring is normally tensioned by means of the built-in electric motor. For emergency operation, it has a crank which can be plugged onto the drive shaft of the spring cage. The connection between the drive shaft and the crank takes place by means of a claw coupling whose claws are constructed like saw teeth, so that the coupling acts only in the direction in which the spring is tensioned. If the spring accumulator of one of the aforementioned drives has to be tensioned without the involvement of a motor, possibly because no motor is installed in the drive or possibly because, for example, the relevant power circuit breaker has been switched off and no electrical energy is available for supplying the built-in motor, a large amount of muscular work is required by the person operating the circuit breaker. In addition, tensioning the accumulator spring using a crank requires a large amount of time. This may be highly unwelcome, particularly when, as a consequence of a severe disturbance, for example during a thunderstorm, the accumulator springs of the drives of a plurality of power circuit breakers must be tensioned.